Personal Agility Key Summary:
“The only thing that is constant is change”- Heraclitus
Given that the only thing that we can predict with certainty is that things will change, it seems inevitable that we will have to find better ways of adapting and responding to it. This is easier said than done because our bodies and minds are programmed to respond to change in a negative way, which puts additional strain on our mental health.
Personal Agility helps us adopt approaches that reduce the levels of change-stress as well as increasing our coping mechanisms when it comes to change adaption. This means that we reduce the strain on our mental health when we are more agile.
What is Personal Agility?
Personal Agility is the ability of an individual to quickly and efficiently adapt to a dynamic or ever-changing environment. It involves aspirational elements (attitude, self-awareness, openness to change and Growth Mindset) and practical elements (habits that try to practice regularly).
How do we build Personal Agility?
If we want to be more agile adaptors, we need to practice agile habits:
- Define and Re-Evaluate your Goals/ Be clear on the purpose of what you do: And don’t be afraid to re-evaluate these regularly.
- Focus on the Value and Output – don’t just “keep busy”
- Experiment with New Ideas/Ways/Tools: Innovate regularly, and challenge yourself to try and figure new things regularly
- Collaborating and idea-sharing – humility and recognition of others is key to fast and effective adaptation
- Challenge your ego triggers
Addressing Agility Obstacles:
One of the obstacles that we face when it comes to personal agility is Perfection Obsession. As much as we would like everything to be perfect, ideal, excellent, this often is just not possible and leads to a state of analysis paralysis where our drive-for- perfect inhibits our ability to move forward thus creating stagnation rather than agility. Remember: ACTION is better than PERFECTION.
It also helps to remember that we are human, we are fallible, that change is hard, and the key to moving past this is to remember to prioritise:
- Accepting (what we can and can’t do)
- Connecting (With others that support us in our journey)
- Taking Care of Ourselves (We need to take care of our bodies and minds, so they are fit to adapt) Most importantly Personal Agility is about attitude and skill so it will take some shift in self-talk about change, and it will take some practice.
Written by LifeAssist
